The photographic evidence

Today I saw the photos one of the guys took of me trying to surf. I had thought I was having a good day and doing well that day. Ouch, the evidence says otherwise! Yeah, I did stand up on a wave (though looking at the picture a friend said "Where's the wave?" because it was so small as to appear nonexistent). But the pictures taken quickly in sequence tell the painful story of how I did it. It wasn't a popup, as I thought. Not at all. In the photos I take the runner's stance (which I have been told not to do for, oh, three years) and then---- I hate to say this but---
I stick my butt up into the air until it's pointing straight out and then up. Only then do I let go of the board with my hands. Yes, it looks as bad as it sounds. Then I gradually get up from being totally bent over at the waist. It looks like a caveman evolving the ability to walk upright.

And the funny thing is, in the last pictures where I'm standing, still slightly bent at the waist, I'm smiling because I think I'm surfing and doing well.

My feet don't pop. They never lose contact with the board. They just slide up.

Well, after so long and so much effort and hope, what can I say. Maybe my old knees are just never going to bend. They don't ever bend in anything I ever do in life, why would I think they would do so in surfing? They are too old, too arthritic, so worn out they barely function. I haven't really used them in nearly ten years. So then what? Is it OK to get up the way I get up if that's all I can do? And even if I don't care, what about how it looks? It's not only embarrassing to think about how I look, but it must be painful and/or hilarious to watch. Well, no wonder people laugh and call me names.

Did that popup I thought happened a while back really happen? Someone said they saw it. But there's no photographic evidence.

I "surf" like an old woman. Well, I am an old woman. Is that so bad? Is it a reason to quit? Maybe I should wear a wetsuit saying Give me a break, I'm doing great for my age and medical condition.